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Disteneng – Government must secure land now

The DA calls on the Limpopo government to accelerate the process of securing land for Disteneng residents outside Polokwane as raging shack-fires again affected the informal settlement.

Six shacks burnt down and left six households homeless last week . The local municipality donated only two blankets per each household, no food parcels nor tents were erected for the victims as an interim relief measure.

More than 50 shacks have already burnt down leaving more than 3 000 households homeless since 2010. Their shacks are adjacent to each other and the fire could have easily escalated was it not for the local fire brigade who came in less than 20 minutes.

We will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Polokwane Mayor, Freddy Greaver and the MEC for Cooperative Governance , Clifford Motsepe on how best we can move the residents.

There is absolutely no government sponsored sanitation and people have to resort to constructing very dangerous structures to use as toilets. The Human Rights Commission has already agreed to investigate appalling conditions in the settlement at the DA’s request.

It’s clear that the Limpopo government and Polokwane Municipality have no empathy towards the victims and the residents in general. The DA is of the view that the government is showing no remorse and that’s the reason why they are delaying the process of securing land to evacuate the dwellers.

The DA reiterates its call that the Limpopo government must speed up the processes to secure land where better houses will be built and basic services provided for the residents such as water , electricity and proper sanitation.